2015.09.06 - Making New Friends
To be blunt, Elena is lost. She used to know how to walk through her home town and knew where everything is. Now she seems to get turned around and always ending up near the same center of town. Only it's the wrong center of town. She takes a breath while looking around, and finally figures she's too flustered. So Elena settles onto a bench and gets her cell phone out. Maybe she can map her location and places. Worse she can't seem to connect with any of her old friends, taking a deep breath. Early evening, and Faith is back in Beacon Hills with more irritation and no answers. She's fairly sure the wolves are avoiding her. She can't even blame them for that choice - even right now, casually making her way up the street, she has that faint air of "danger" to her. Of predator. She knows she's going to have to prove to McCall's pack that she's not here to hunt them. And keep Wesley out of it, given his recent reaction. She hasn't yet noticed the lost looking woman. Yet. Elena has been getting used to that 'danger' feel and tends to take it to mean vampire. Those are the top predators in her experience. So when Elena looks up and sees an unknown girl with that air, she takes a breath and lightly touches her necklace. Making sure she has her vervain still on her. Taking a breath for bravery she says to Faith, "You look fit enough to kill." Doing her best to offer a disarming smile. There's still just enough light to probably preclude vampire. She's not turning to ash, sparkling, or anything else vampires of various kinds do when hit by the sun. As she's greeted, Faith tilts her head slightly to one side, then regards the other woman. "I can't tell whether that's a threat or a compliment." Elena knows you can't count on that rule for vampires. "Let's call it an observation. Mostly it just seems you are upset and fit enough to do real damage." She offers a hand, "I'm Elena. Sort of new here. How about you, do you know this area?" "Moderately. Not very well." She does reach to shake hands, her grip more like a man's than a woman's - nothing tentative about it. "Faith." She'd reassure Elena she's not a vampire...if she knew Elena knew vampires existed. Elena's own shake is lacking fear but she's not a 'tough girl' by anyone's standards. "Faith. Nice to meet you. So just visiting friends then? Can't imagine Mystic Falls... I mean Beacon Hills gets lots of tourists." She looks a bit reassured after the hand shake. Okay, that...that little slip up. "Mystic Falls?" Faith asks, catching onto it as neatly as a terrier with prey, although she might not be quite so dogged pursuing it. "Yeah. It's like a part of Beacon Hills." Elena doing her best to cover up her mix up. She's sort of right about it being in Beacon Hills now, she's just not used to it. Elena looks around and admits, "Guess I'm a small town girl at heart. Still getting used to things." "This is still a pretty small town," Faith notes. She doesn't push on the mix up; she just makes mental note of it. If Elena was displaced, she's not mundane. If she's just that lost...then...she's not anything for the Slayer to worry about, one way or another. Elena looks around and sees they're mostly alone and not in any real danger. "So what about you? You a city girl or from San Fran or something?" She smiles trying to get a sense of Faith. "But yeah it is still a small town just doesn't always feel like home ya know? Like something can still be the same but everything has changed as well. I don't know it's like looking at the same room with just one eye instead of both." "Oh, I'm a city girl alright. Boston." Which makes her a good long way from home, but her accent carries notes which speak to the truth of her words. "I suppose. Sometimes the world can feel that way, though." "East coast girl," Elena gives a smiling nod of approval. "I admit I'm more of an east coast fan myself. Not been to Boston really before though. You don't sound like you are from the yard," stretching the word out. "So what has you way out here then, Faith? Looking for someone too?""Business," Faith says with a shrug. "I'll probably be gone again once its concluded." Probably. Given how dangerous the Nemeton is, she's not sure she'd trust this patch to a junior...especially as anyone here would have to be able to deal with the wolves, without either trusting them or harming them. Elena is sadly clueless to all sorts of things about her new hometown. She takes a breath and looks a long pregnant moment at Faith. Finally she asks. "So you're headed back home after business. Did you come her unexpectedly? I heard that has happened a bit lately. Unexpected travel." Mentally kicking herself, god Elena could you be less obvious? Faith Lehane shakes her head. "No. I escaped that particular..." Unless you count being teleported to Mexico, and Faith is fairly sure that's not connected. One shoulder lifts for a moment. "So, where is...or was...Mystic Falls really?" "Particular what?" Elena presses to try and figure out what went unsaid. But she takes a chance. "I don't know. I mean Mystic Falls is this little piece in Beacon Hills. But to me it seems like someone from Virginia made it to remind them of home. The thing that gets to me is the mix match of trees and stuff." Virginia. She should be able to check that quickly enough. If only she could get even five minutes with Willow, but the witch has been a little elusive lately. "That is odd," she agrees, backing off from the confrontation. Or rather, at this point, they both know, but nobody's actually going to say it. Typical. Elena finally just lets out a sigh. "Look I'm stressed out enough as it is, and we just met. I doubt you wanna hear me grip about missing boyfriends and best friend is in the hospital. So yeah I'm just feeling a bit out of sorts, I'm sorry if I make no sense." She checks her phone for the twentieth time today and still no messages or words from anyone. "I don't do alone so well." "I've been trying to get one of my friends to pick up her phone, but...missing?" She brushes back her dark hair. "I might be able to help." "He can take care of himself and I'm sure he'll turn up. His brother is here and helping me look for him. Just slow going, ya know?" Elena shrugs a shoulder and asks, "You met anyone named Stefan Salvatore recently?" Faith Lehane shakes her head. "Can't say I have..or that I've heard the name. Sorry." It's not at all familiar. "Did he go missing here in Beacon Hills?" "Mystic Falls on Founder's Day. But a lot of weird stuff happened on that day." Elena can't just go into the whole vampire plot thing though. "But Damon is looking for him and," she stops herself. "It's a long story. You don't wanna hear it all. What about you, what do you do that has you doing business trips." Faith Lehane shrugs. "Sales," she says, so casually it has a strong ring of truth (Despite, of course, being a horrible lie). She's still making notes...there's definitely stuff going on with this young woman. Faith is pretty sure, though, that she's not a Slayer. She doesn't have the grip strength for it. "That's vague and a non answer," says Elena. But for now she doesn't pressure. "Do you like to travel? I don't get to do it much. Got a road trip to Atlanta but that was a bit more drama then I would like. I imagine a small town like this is less fun for a city girl too huh?""Depends on your definition of fun. I know there's at least one decent bar here." She grins. "I can always find a decent bar." Elena looks too young to know about decent bars...yet. Elena asks, "Mystic Grill? I go there a lot, even have a friend who busses there some nights." She may not be a big drinker but she can know where some are. "I try not to do shot though, too young and the last time gave me such a hangover." "Drink more water," Faith advises. "Not the next day. WHILE you're drinking. Only thing that works." Sounds like she has plenty of experience with, well, drinking. "I'll remember that. Thanks," appreciating the advice. Her vampire friends don't get hung over and drink like fishes. Elena sweeps her straight hair over her shoulder. "Speaking from personal experience, driving can be dangerous. You need someone to be a designated driver for you to get you back to your hotel?" Faith Lehane laughs. "Nah. I'm actually stone cold sober right now." She grins. "Thanks for the offer, though." "That was me offering to go get a drink and try to ignore the drama of my life. I can't drink but I can pretend there's rum in my coke or something." Elena repeating the offer for Faith. "Or do you really wanna talk about weirdness and the oddities of life?"Faith Lehane laughs a bit. "Fair enough. And...sometimes I do want weirdness. Sometimes I just want a rum and coke." Which she wasn't sure she wanted until Elena said that. "Which sounds more the flavor of the night for you," asks Elena? She starts to look around, "Now if I can only remember the way to the Grill. And can I trust myself with you?" Looking Faith over long an hard. "I have enough 'bad people' in my life lately." "I only hurt bad people," Faith says, simply. "Or people stupid enough to start a bar fight with me." That elicits another of those grins. "Bad is often a matter of perspective I learned. However there are always those true bad apples you meet at times." Elena is getting used to seeing that grin and trying to figure it's real meaning. "I won't start a bar fight ever. I'm not much of a fighter. I like to not break my wrist. Have you been in a lot of bar fights?" "I don't start them. I finish them." Faith shrugs. "A couple. Usually because some guy had his hand on my thigh and wouldn't remove it when asked nicely." "Sound like a real bad ass. Wish I had that kind of strength it really come in handy at times." Elena points out with a coy smile, "Course if it is the right kind of guy, that can be fun." "Oh, if it's the right kind of guy...then he's in even more danger." The grin becomes a different kind of predatory. "You remind me of someone." Which is a bit good and a bit bad. Elena manages a small smile though with the joke. "I bet you have some great stories. Especially if you traveled in 'sales' a lot." "Oh, I have a few." Fortunately, it's hard to get a Slayer drunk enough to start actually repating some of them. "So... drinking and stories and girls night out. Or walks through lighted areas and talks about drama and past experiences?" Elena motions with one hand one way and one hand another way. Course she isn't sure if she actually motioned to the Grill or not with the first hand. "Drinking," Faith says firmly. "And I'm pretty sure the bar is this way." Faith probably has detect bar. Or something very similar, anyway. Looking over that way, "Good. Glad someone knows where everything is now." Elena mutters under her breath about something too soft to hear. Then she starts to walk that way with Faith. "So what's your favorite drink?" "Depends on my mood," Faith admits. "Right now, you had to mention rum and coke." And make her want some, apparently. "I'll buy you a drink then and we can play some pool. Just take it easy on me, I kinda suck." Elena grins and is glad to have maybe made a normal friend.